The Inner Struggle: Guides for Using Inner Conflict That Make Sense

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy I sat in on an amazing workshop while I was at RWA that made something typically vague very clear and applicable. Michael Hague's Using Inner Conflict to Create Powerful Love Stories. It was one of those workshops that discussed what I already knew, but Hague presented it in such a way that I clearly saw a super easy way to apply inner journeys to my stories. While the workshop was about romance specifically, the pieces of Hague’s inner conflict really work for any character journey. He calls the overall arc the “journey from living in fear to living courageously.” Let's take a peek at Hauge's basic inner conflict arc: Longing or Need: The thing the character longs for or needs in the story. If this doesn’t say “inner goal” I don’t know what does. (More on goals here) Wound: A past wound or hurt that is a current unhealed source of pain. The wound might be some deep dark secret, or it can be how the character grew up. (More on backstory here)

Plotting Your Novelby Lee Masterson "By failing to plan, you are planning to fail." A good story is made up of a logical beginning, a bumpy middle and a satisfying end.The 3 Essential Elements to Creating a Believable Romance - C. S. LakinC.S. Lakin runs an amazing blog called Live Write Thrive – haven’t been there yet? Take a peek around, and don’t forget to check out her new book 5 Editors Tackle the 12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing! Boy meets girl.Create More Story Depth With Mini ArcsBy Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy My current WIP is different from what I normally write. It’s more character journey than plot exploration, so the turning points are softer and more emotional. To work with the softer nature and create tension and conflict, I’ve added more layers to evoke the necessary emotional responses from my characters. Mini arcs have been my go-to tool here. What makes the arcs “mini” and not full-on subplots, is that they’re focused on relationships and the issues associated with those relationships instead of self-contained plots of their own.

Basic Tips To Create Better Characters With Tragic & Traumatic BackstoriesFirst, ask yourself why you’re giving your character a tragic or traumatic backstory. Are you giving your character this backstory to build up/explain what kind of person your character is now? Or are you simply doing it to make readers or other characters feel sorry for your character, or to make your character seem more badass/tough for having survived the ordeal? The first is a legitimate reason to give your character a tragic/traumatic backstory.

Forcing the Issue: Adding Conflict to Your ScenesBy Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Sometimes I notice my protagonist is following along with the plot and doing what they need to do, one step at a time, but even though things are problematic, there's no sense that there's really anything in the way trying to stop them. Sure, it's hard, but they just need to fight through it to the next step. Stuff's in the way, but it's not opposing them. It's the literary equivalent of a big action sequence in a movie.

The Adverb Is Not Your Friend: Stephen King on Simplicity of Styleby Maria Popova “I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops.” “Employ a simple and straightforward style,” Mark Twain instructed in the 18th of his 18 famous literary admonitions. And what greater enemy of simplicity and straightforwardness than the adverb? Or so argues Stephen King in On Writing: A Memoir on the Craft (public library), one of 9 essential books to help you write better. Though he may have used a handful of well-placed adverbs in his recent eloquent case for gun control, King embarks upon a forceful crusade against this malignant part of speech:

Form Fitting: Using Story Structure to Your AdvantageBy Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy This week’s Refresher Friday takes an updated look at how structure can help you craft stronger stories. Every novel has structure, whether you outline it or pants it, and stories have followed a basic structure since people started telling them.Tips 'N Stuff To Create, Write, & Draw Better Female Action HeroesNo matter what, you can't go wrong with these. Basically, ask yourself how you'd write any action hero... and just make what you've got in mind female. Then factor in how your character's tastes, beliefs, and worldviews may have been affected and influenced by her time period and culture. Also, imagine women you actually know and try to imagine someone with their personalities and tastes as action heroes. If she starts competent, make sure she sure she stays competent. Many alleged female action heroes are only able to look after themselves until their intended love interest comes along - at which point she will start getting herself into so much trouble and danger that you wonder how she ever survived this long.